


Old Habits

by chibihanna



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M, this will probably be 2 or 3 chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 03:44:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21469537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibihanna/pseuds/chibihanna
Summary: Wash is a state of unease ever since they came to this moon. What is relaxing anyway?  Set between season 14 and 15. Canon divergent.
Relationships: Agent Carolina & Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue)
Kudos: 18





	Old Habits

Wash sat in the mess hall. It was the dead of night none of the Reds or Blues would be awake at this time. His armour was on but his helmet was carefully placed on the table side his steaming cup of coffee. Coffee on this moon was at least abundant. He made sure of that. It was him and Sarge who agreed that 40 crates of the stuff should be enough to last them a year. Although, Washington himself really didn’t believe that. He drank it sparingly just in case. One cup, he told himself. Perhaps, it was enough if he told himself so. The smell filled the room, with every sip Wash could taste the five sugars he put in. The sweetness was enough to keep him awake.

He had an old combat manual lying around the base held between his thumb and fingers. It wasn’t the most interesting piece of literature in the world but it’s what he found in the mess. He was flipping through the pages. Mostly, it was simplistic military tactics and requirements. Hand to hand, pistols, shot guns. Basics. Compared to Freelancer, this was a cake walk of basics. This made him nostalgic. Reminding himself of the early days of his time in the UNSC. 

Basic didn’t feel that easy when it was happening. Push ups, squats, weapon maintenance, endless sleepless nights, simulations, point and shoot, eliminate targets, mission failures. It was a lot but it’s meant to break you. He could feel his muscles aching from just the memory. Reading this was making him antsy. He felt like he needed to be on alert. He took a deep breath. Relax. Even though that word echoed inside his head he still managed to keep up his training routines most nights. Maybe he didn’t really know the meaning of the word. 

He wasn’t made for rest and he knew it. He admitted that he enjoyed a few weeks of it. The first month was the hardest. Trying to relax after years of fighting. He was lucky if he managed to get 3 hours of sleep at time. Now it was different. He could now get 5 hours, that is, if he wasn’t woken up by the crisis of the day. Most of the time it was just the general bickering, the Reds and blues were, for better or worse, always ready to fight about something. 

He was absentmindedly tapping his fingers against the metal table. The sound echoed maybe a little too loudly in the mess hall. He was on edge. Sometimes things can get so quiet that you begin to worry it’s not going to last. Relaxation was beyond him tonight. It was when his mind began running the worst possible scenarios that he wondered aloud, “Maybe I should switch to decaf.” 

“Don’t you dare” A voice warned.

His heart went straight to his throat and his fingers gripped the table hard enough to make an echo. The sound of her voice nearly scared the shit out of him. Carolina stood tall against the door frame of the mess hall. Her hair was down and out of place, red tresses cascading down her face and neck. Her eyes slightly hooded. _Guess she couldn’t sleep either. _  
  
He took a quick deep breath, loosening his grip on the table gently, to seem like he was totally unphased by her sudden entrance before asking, “why not?” 

She walked in pushing her hair back and out of her face. Her eye narrowed and she smiled a hint of a smile. “Because you’re making a new pot.” It felt like an order even though it wasn’t one. He rose promptly and urgently to do it. _Old habits._

“Can’t sleep, huh?” He asked as he poured the water into the coffee maker. He scooped a tablespoon of the coffee grounds and closed the machine, his finger hovering over the start button.

“Only one spoonful? Are you trying to kill me?” Suddenly, Carolina was right behind him. Dangerously close. She put an arm across his chest to push him away gently but it still had some strength behind it. The sound of her hand hitting his armour filled the room for an instant but it continued to echo in his chest. He didn’t realize what she was doing before she grabbed the spoon from the counter and a scoop and another, and another.

“Easy there, you’re gonna feel colour if you put anymore.”

Carolina ignored him. “Coffee isn’t worth anything if it isn’t strong, Wash.”

Washington nodded but can’t say he agreed with her. He eyed her carefully as she watched the machine come to life. It was as if she was staring down the machine, as if trying to intimidate the machine to go faster. He had been on the other end of that stare before. His muscles briefly ached from the memory. The strong smell of her coffee flooded the mess hall. The scent itself was enough to awaken an entire platoon.

Once it was done brewing she poured herself a cup and began adding the sugar. Two teaspoons. A respectable amount compared to Wash’s five. The hollow sound of her scooping the sugar from its bowl filled the silence that settled between them. By then, Wash had already wandered back to his book at the table. He just stared at the cover, tracing his fingers along the spine, pretending that he was reading the back of it. He was really out of it. He thought maybe it was time for him to turn in.

The sound of her porcelain cup hitting the metal table made his eyes dart up. Her eyes staring at the book. She sighed with a smile like she was about to say something but she stayed silent, taking sips of her coffee. She kept the cup just at chest level. Wash assumed that she did this just so she could smell the rich aroma of her coffee. She was cute like this: just content. The silence said lots about the two of them. This comfort and ease wasn’t something easily obtained. His previous feeling of antsyness was settling in him. She had the effect on him. He could feel the tension in his shoulders drop as he himself took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee. It was strange how she could rile him up and ease his anxiety seemingly all in the same breath

She was practically chugging her coffee now. “No one is going to up for hours? Wanna try going for a run?” She was suddenly fired up and ready to go.

Wash carefully considered it for a moment. He thought about it carefully. It was late. Maybe too late. He really should turn in. His coffee wasn’t hitting him as strongly. He had a ton of reasons to say no. However, it wasn’t until he heard himself say “Alright.” That he realized that he had already made up his mind.

* * *

  
Wash stood outside, his breath very visible. He had ditched his heavy armour instead wearing a sleeveless shirt, jogging pants and boots. He was already regretting it. His arms were already getting cold. He wasn’t used to being out without armour. It was like being naked; defenseless. Feeling anything without it was so much more. The sights, the smells, everything was as if it were in intense high definition. The smell of the cold air or how icy it feels against bare skin, it had been a while since he felt like this. He had probably be relying too much on the armour lately. 

He briefly entertained the idea of running inside to grab a sweater but he could hear footsteps approaching. Too late now. Carolina wandered into view. She had changed into black leggings and a sports bra. He glanced at her scars along her mid-section. It wasn’t that it hurt to look at them. He knew she considered them the price of a job well done. Wash couldn’t count how many he himself had. Definitely less than her. Less jobs well done.

“I’m going to stretch first,” Carolina asserted. She sighed, staring at her breath in the cold. “It’s been a while since I ran without the armour.” Wash found himself smiling at her statement. Turns out he wasn’t the old one feeling naked. She sat on the ground, and began interlocking her fingers together to stretch them out in front of her.

Wash was stretching pretty half-heartedly. He was distracted watching her stretch. He couldn’t help but stare at her. The shape of her thighs, her curves, the way she would arch her back. He had to stop himself. This line of thinking wouldn’t help him now. He already regretted wearing his now too-tight pants. It’s easy to look passed how attractive someone is when you spend every day with them. They are so close to you that they are almost family. Almost.

Carolina was definitely beautiful. Her hair was as firey as she was. Her muscles, her expressions, her scars , everything about her screamed she was strong. Wash liked that about her. Her strength of her will and body were her power. It’s an attractive trait for a freelancer but Wash quietly admitted to himself that it was an attractive trait for him as well. 

“Done stretching already, Wash?” Carolina inquired. He gulped a little louder than he would have liked. 

_Deep breaths, Wash.   
_

She quickly rose to her feet. “Well if you’re ready….” She lowered her head slightly before yelling “GO!” 

She was yards in front of him before he even got to his feet. She was hard to keep pace with, even without her armour enhancements she was almost uncatchable but Wash was still able to just barely keep up. He hasn’t been lax with his training, retirement or not, it was no excuse not to stay in shape. His whole body was screaming at him but he was desperate to keep up with her.   
She was near sprinting now. “Carolina—Th-this isn’t a race” Wash heaved.

“This feels amazing!” She yelled. Quickening her pace even more. He was truly going to drop dead if she kept up this pace. She quickly looked behind her probably realizing how far he was behind her before yelling back, “Should we slow down, Wash?” She was near mocking but Wash didn’t care. He was dying.

“P-Please!” He was trying to control his breathing as best as he could. He didn’t want to seem like the run completely and utterly destroyed him even though his lungs were on fire. She seemed unphased by the sheer amount of running the two of them did. It was almost ungodly how much stamina she seemed to have. It was another mile before she completely slowed down then stopped, falling down against the cold dirt. 

Wash fell down right next to her. His chest rising and falling with subtle frequency, he glanced over at her and matched his breathing to hers, not wanting to seem like he was as shattered as he was.  
“Was that too much for ya, Wash?”

Wash took a deep breath in before saying “Nah,” nonchalantly. He was playing it cool but he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone here, himself especially. 

She rolled, propping herself on her arm. She huffed and little and smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. It was like she could see right through him. She quickly jabbed him in the side. “Liar.” 

“Okay fine” He said rolling his eyes and dragging out his breaths, “my lungs are on fire and I’m pretty sure I tore every muscle I have. I have no idea how you have this much energy”

“I think you’re just slacking on your training.” She laughed

Wash pouted for a moment. I’ll show her whose slacking. He tackled her quickly, taking her completely by surprise. Holding her down with his legs and holding her arms above her.   
Carolina looked up at Wash dumbfounded for a moment, face flushed. At first, it looked like she didn’t know what to say. Wash felt a pang of superiority. He knew it was probably a little early for feeling like he bested her but if this were the glory days of Project Freelancer, this would be a major accomplishment. 

“Wash…” Her eyes softened for a moment. She struggled against his hold briefly before flipping him to the ground, her replacing him as the one on top. Wash let out a sudden groan. He hit the ground with more force than he would have liked. She cocked a smile while looking down at him. “Gotcha.” He couldn’t say it out loud but she was incredibly hot. Legs straddling him, muscles flexed to hold him down. He tried to not to make eye contact.

“Okay, okay! Ya got me. Now can you let me off easy?”

“You think you’re getting off easy, Wash?” He could still feel the pain of hitting the ground a second ago. This certainly wasn’t being let off easy.

“You know, for a moment there, I thought I had you”

“And you did…for a second” A smile played across her lips. Her grip wasn’t loosening even though Wash was struggling against her. “Careful Wash.” Her statement was more of a tease than a warning. He knew that when she’s on her guard like this that there was no beating her. 

“Fine.” Wash said, utterly defeated. He went limp for a moment. “Truce.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing this fic on and off since August so please have patience for when chapter 2 is coming. I'm firmly dedicated to finishing this no matter how long it takes.


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